Christmas Jams🎄

Dear everyone,

Can I just say how much I LOVE Christmas? I love it. I want some more of it. Sister Hall and I have been rocking out to Christmas music since I got here basically and it's been the best thing ever! Don't be hating on the Christmas music y'all!

This week felt sooooo long! It took forever to be over! I can't even really remember what we did, but man this whole Thanksgiving thing threw a monkey wrench at us. The holiday never seems to end! People were still doing thanksgivagain or actual thanksgiving on Friday, Saturday and Sunday it seemed😒 but you know what, good for them! I'm glad they're with their families! It's okay if they don't want to talk to me...

Okay so on Tuesday we went down to a little town called Huntingburg in our area and stayed there all day. We met a lot of Catholics (the whole town is devoutly catholic). We went up to this one house that was huge and had these ginormous pink French doors and a lady came out who then proceeded to tell us how she takes care of her feral cat colony, which consists of 19 cats. The craziest part was she had them all fixed... who does that? Apparently she really likes the colony and wants to keep them around but doesn't want to get overrun. We met some cool people though. I love hearing people's stories. I love hearing how God changed their life, or seeing God's hand in their life when they tell me about their experiences. He's working in all of us, guiding us, whether we know it or not, and I just love that and I love getting to tell people that every day.

That night for Clase de Ingles we had 5 new people come, and 4 of them knew no English at all, so that was fun! They were super sweet and boy it's so interesting when you have all these people together on different levels of understanding and how everyone helps each other, its just really cool. There's a woman in there from Mexico, Norma, who never lets me get away with anything! If the class has to say things in English, I have to say stuff in Spanish. It's real good for me, she is hilarious! And there's this abuella named Maria, who says the nicest things to us like she'll call us "angelitas" or "princesas" and she is just the cutest and I love her!

On Wednesday we went over to see the Lemond family and helped them make cookies and brownies! More like we helped to eat them😂 This family is so darn cute! They are inactive I guess, I don't understand why though. They still believe, and they're willing to have us come over for lessons, so I'm just excited to get to know them more. They loved the elders, so we'll just have to show them how fun sisters can be!😜

We met a lady named Shakira! And no, she was not from Colombia, or any Latin country, still cool though! We have a lesson with her later this week! Later that night we helped a family we're teaching paint their porch, I still have paint in my hair! Right after we went to dinner at the Leclere's. They live out by Huntingburg in the boonies and right when I stepped out of the car I smelled horses. Horses! I haven't been anywhere near horses until now! It made me so happy, I told Sister Leclere I would be down to help out around the barn if they needed us. I immediately loved this family and then guess what? Someone showed up a little later and I went to see who and it was the Hills from back in Woodhaven! They saw more and were like "hey we know you!" That just made my whole week! And tge best part is that sister Hill is pregnant!!!! Ahhhhhh I'm so excited! She found out right after I left,  I'm just glad I got to see them again and hear the news!😊

Thanksgiving was a very chill day. We studied, made cookies, had dinner with the Ahner family and attempted to put together a 1000 piece puzzle, it was great! I'm thankful that thanksgiving was calm!

Friday it took up half the day to go to district council, but at least we have our Christmas music so out wasn't so bad. The rest of the day we dropped off cookies and did weekly planning. I dont like planning😑

Saturday was a party cuz we went out to Huntingburg again, but this time we brought Hannah. Hannah is a gal from our ward who does everything and helps us so much it's ridiculous! She's 15, but she's approved to come to lessons cuz there's no one else who is available ever. I wouldn't want anyone but Hannah honestly! So it was fun, we had a lesson with a woman named Juana, and this time I understood like, 25% of the conversation in Spanish. Then we had a new member lesson with Felipe who is just the sweetest man you will ever meet, and so faithful! I felt like he should be teaching us!

Yesterday was good. There was a return missionary visiting the ward who all the older members kept trying to set us up with, so that was awkward. Later while we were out we had planned on visiting Blanca, but as we pulled up she was pulling out. So we thought, "on well." She texted us and told us she thought she saw us and that she had just run out to do some laundry at the laundromat. We started driving away, but I kept getting this thought to turn around and go back. I DIDN'T LISTEN! After trying by like, 2 other people, Hermana Hall was like, "what should we do?" And I told her we needed to go back cuz I had been ignoring a prompting and she said "oh my gosh same!" So we flipped that car around and that's when we got another text from Blanca telling us she wanted us to come to the laundromat. It just so happened to be the next right on the road??

The visit with Blanca was so good! We taught her the Restoration in the laundromat and she stayed engaged and had comments the entire time! She has a lot of potential, she already knows so much! It was just incredible how all these things worked out, and also that we were able to make it to dinner not super late😅 I'll never know what we missed or who we missed by not turning around immediately, but it was incredible to me that the Lord still allowed us to see Blanca even though we totally didn't deserve that second chance. He knows us so we'll though, and I can't help but think that everything worked out the way it was meant to. I just want to be more obedient about those promptings!

It was a good day, oh, and I volunteered myself to sing at our Christmas Zone Conference that's happening in 3 days... some zone leaders called and were like "we need more musical numbers" and I just blurted out that I could do something and now I'm doing a solo. Great.

Anyways, I hope Thanksgiving was wonderful for all y'all! I know there are little miracles and tender mercies we've seen in all our lives, and I know the source of all miracles is an almighty, loving being in whom we have every reason to be grateful for. This is a beautiful time of year to celebrate the birth of our Savior. It's a time where we can so easily share his light and love with others. Light the world has just come out and this year they're doing things a little differently. There's a theme for each week. Week 1 is light the World. Week 2 is light the community. Week 3 is light your family. Week 4 is light your faith. It's an exciting time for missionaries and I hope y'all get into the excitement as well!

I LOVE YOU SO MUCH! You are the greatest human beings and you are my life!

With love,
Sister Wilcox😘😘😘

 

Spanglishing My Way Through Life

Hola!

That's as good as my Spanish has been 😂

My new address is 2250 St. Charles St Jasper, Indiana 47546

This week has been so much fun! I'm finally in a small town and there are cows!! It makes me so happy! There are back roads and small towns everywhere, it's so darn cute!

Okay so I live in a members house. Hermana Hall and I have the upstairs and we get to park the car in the garage! Fancy fancy! And the sweet older gal who let's us stay here, Sister Staley, is so cute and her best friend from England, Joan, is here as well! Love her accent so much!👌 We baked a cake for sister Staleys birthday, she turned 80! We celebrated by playing Rubicube (not sure if thats how its spelled) with her and Joan and it was a blast cuz I won! Hahaha

So we teach a lot of Latinos here! Yay! Some people were trying to tell me that I probably wouldn't be doing much Spanish work here, but that's just not the case. One half of the people we are teaching are white, the other half is Latino, and it's AWESOME. How am I doing on my spanish?? Not so hot. I understand like, 20% of the conversations. It will come though! Hermana Hall tells everyone we meet that I like Raggaeton, and all the Latinos think it's hilarious! She says it's my "in" with them. I'll take it! I can bond over music! We also have a Clase De Ingles and we meet some real cool people through that. It's also another way to help me learn some Espanol!😄

We do lots of tracting here, lots of lessons that may or may not happen, and lots of less active work. The ward is puny! I don't know why it's not a branch! The families I've met so far are way fun though, and maybe now I'll learn every members name!🤣

It snowed on Thursday, so that was cool. It was very pretty against the orange and gold trees, and there was ice hanging from the branches, just beautiful! We have to drive about an hour to get to district meetings, so I'm just grateful the drive is pretty. Speaking of driving, we're totally jipped on miles and we're probably going to bike a lot this month! We biked the other day to dinner and it was so good to be on the bike again! Memories of good old Hurstbourne last winter!

I got to pet a ginormous Rottweiler this week and I'm sorry but that was up there on my happy list. She was huge! And so friendly! Oh how I love big dogs!

I got some sad news on Saturday. A very dear missionary friend of ours died the day after transfers. He knows all the missionaries, helps all the missionaries, he's just an angel. His name was Leonard Cannon, and his wife Sarah needs all the prayers. Leonard saved us so many times. He drove sister Pankey all the way from Radcliff Kentucky to Evansville so she could attend Carly's baptism. I saw him at transfers, and I just think it's so crazy how quickly death can take someone from our lives. But Leonard was such an angel that he must be needed to rescue souls on the other side of the veil as well. I will miss him though! We all will! I'm so grateful that I get to see all my loved ones when I die! The relationships we have with those we love and care about are so deep, it would be just plain cruel if we never saw them again! God's plan is perfect, and I want to live as best I can so I see those I've lost again someday.

Well, I think that is all. Can't really remember what else, so have a happy Thanksgiving y'all! I love you!!!!😘

With love,
Sister Wilcox❤❤❤

 

Y'all I'm Leaving

Hi everybody!

So, first things first, I'm being transferred!😨

I apparently forgot to mention last week that we were getting transfer calls, but I also wasn't expecting it to be a big deal so that's probably why I forgot. But they are a big deal because they're moving me to Jasper Indiana AND they're putting me in a tiger team meaning that I'll be with an Hermana and I get to teach Latinos! I get to learn spanish!!!!!!!!!!!! 😆😆😆🎉🎊🎊🎉 Totally not what I was expecting and now I have to pack so I'll likely not email much, again... lo siento!

So things are crazy here because they're taking the spanish elders out of this ward and Sister Calhoun is in a tiger team too! Plus they're moving apartments and they have to share the car with some elders in Newburg... I'm feeling a little stressed for my girl here! I mean, everything is going the way in needs to, but boy this is going to be interesting!

I don't like saying goodbye to everyone! I hates it! I love my ward and my people, and I felt like I was going to be here longer but no I'm leaving! Ahhhhh! This transfer was a short one, I think it's because it was way too much fun!😣 I really cannot think right now, sorry people.

Tomorrow I'll be leaving Evansville at 6:30 in the morning to drive the 2 hours to Louisville and guys I just realized I get to see Sister Wilcox before she goes home!!!😀😀😀 I am so EXCITED! Transfers are so messed up because you never know when you have to say goodbye to everyone you love and move your life to another place, but at the same time it's an adventure and you make new friends and you get to see old ones again. It's a roller coaster!

Jasper is apparently more boonie than any plavce I've been to, and can I just say how thrilled I am for that? I've been wanting so long to be sent to the middle of no where and now it's happening! Wow!

This week was just all stress leading up to now in anticipation for transfers so I really can't remember what happened this week... Oh well!

I love y'all! Enjoy your week! Soak in the holiday excitement and thank God for all the many blessings in your lives! You're a blessing in my life, that's for sure!😉

With love,
Sister Wilcox ❤❤❤

Everything in a Nutshell

Hey y'all

I don't even know what to start with because a lot happened this week. And I'll likely forget a bunch of stuff.

So on Monday we had our district p-day at the zoo! I talked to all the animals like a crazy woman because I wanted to... ooh there were these cool little salamander things that are apparently endangered and mainly live in Indiana, and they're called hellbinders. I thought that was awesome, but I still don't know why they're called that. And yes I chased a peacock but it was for a good cause! Sister Calhoun and our STL sister Rowe wanted a picture with it, and it didn't work out, but I had fun! Then after the zoo Sister Calhoun and I went to Rural King and looked at flannels and boots and it was just the best!😊

Tuesday we tried going tracting, but everybody thought we were trick or treaters because they changed Halloween to that night! Some neighborhoods decided to do it cuz it was supposed rain pretty good the next day, people just take your umbrellas! Sk that was very inconvenient. We met a cute old lady named Betsy who gave us pretzels, that was nice. We were nearly late to sing at the ward talent show with the elders, but we made it. I'll spare yall the details of the experience- okay it wasn't bad but boy am I glad it's over! The real fun was when I got to paint the elders and their friend Estebans faces for their Spanish song from the movie "Coco," now that was up my alley! They looked pretty cool! So that was worth it😉

Wednesday we had a fun thing happen. We're meeting with a part member family and the wife's name is Patty. We texted Patty a few days before to make an appointment with them. We show up, have a lesson, and it was all good. They're really chill people. Anyway, we get in the car and saw we had a text from Patty and that we received it during the time we were in the lesson. We thought it might have been a delayed text or something. Then we get home and Patty calls us and we answer and its not the same Patty! We texted the wrong Patty! We found out that this other Patty had been meeting with missionaries a year ago and still reads the book of Mormon and she wants to meet with missionaries again! Whaaaaat?! It was pretty bizarre!

That night we had the same issue as the night before because it was actually Halloween and people were out and about partying, I guess Evansville really just wanted 2 Halloweens instead of 1! 😐 We had fun though cuz we got to go to the Jenks for dinner and games. We couldn't proselyte after 6, so we got to hang out with them, Carly, the Evans, and the elders. People start trick or treating at 4 around here, who does that?

The days leading up to Saturday was a blur because Saturday was Carly's baptism. Friday we had interviews with our mission president and I told him how stressed I was, I just really wanted this to be a good experience for Carly! Her mom was coming, and Sister Pankey was coming from Radcliff and some of Carly's good friends, it was giving me anxiety! But it all worked out and it was so good! Carly basically planned the whole thing, which was hilarious!

So first off it was all normal, we sang a hymn, Carly was baptized by her friend Kobin, there were beautiful talks given on baptism and the Holy Ghost, all good. Then Carly played a Christian song sung by her friend, Sophie, who was killed in a freak car accident in 2016, and it was BEAUTIFUL. I could definitely feel the Spirit, and I could feel that there was another presence there, and I know it was Sophie. That was such a tender moment at the baptism, and I am so grateful I was there to witness it. Loved ones are not lost! They are always with us, and they cheer us on and support us. Sophie was there supporting Carly, and what a sweet sweet thing that was to feel.

Everything went well, then the closing song was a song called "O come to the altar" and I can't remember who sings it, but it was fun! I think it confused everyone from the ward who had a background only in the church though, which we knew that would happen but Carly really wanted it anyway. I only know that song because I was cultured in Christian rock by my boss, John Feary 😂 It was awesome anyway! The rest of the day was just a blur cuz I got to see sister Pankey and my MTC companion sister Ashmead, and Sister Calhoun and I got to talk to a bunch of return missionaries all day and that was just so much fun! Carly had a blast and I'm just so happy for her and that it all went so good! Blessings from God!

Carly's confirmation on Sunday was the best! It was fast Sunday too and the stand was packed with people who wanted to bear their testimonies and that was CRAZY! I've never seen so many people who wanted to do that all at once!

That's all I remember. Thank you for your prayers, they are greatly appreciated and I know they have helped Carly so much! I also know that they're the only things holding me together! I love you all and I miss you!

With love,
Sister Wilcox 😘

I got lots of pictures this week!

Sister Calhoun loves cows and I love chickens- look at what we found at Hobby Lobby! So cute!

Zoo pics

The cow thing with glasses belongs to the Ruperts. Each of the splotches on the cow are countries or states they've been to, we thought that was cool.

We had to drive Henderson Kentucky (30 min away) to get some baptismal suits for Carly, so we took a pic with the Henderson elders :)

Some Halloween paint

We got carmel apple cider from Starbucks and it was awesome!

I saw a very unique looking bus thing in some neighborhood and wanted a pic

"There's nothing I love more than lying in bed"

Hey y'all

It twas another good week! I'm going to the zoo today for district p-day and I'm so excited! So I might not get to email everybody today, sorry! I'll try!

Tuesday and Wednesday had a funk to them that I couldn't put my finger on. It wasn't that anything bad happened to us it's just that little things kept going wrong and we kept meeting really really weird people... but what's new? The traffic has been super bad on the expressway lately, so that could be why there was so much negativity in the air. People around here get pretty upset if you disrupt their need for speed.

We went to give cookies to this gal in the ward who just had her hand amputated, so we stopped by her house only to find that she wasn't there. Her son (who we talked to forever) said she was at some hospital getting therapy. Then he somehow enlisted us to take her some things she would need while staying there and how can you say no to someone who doesn't have a car whose mom is in the hospital?? We didn't really know where it was at or how we'd get in, but we just went for It!

We were able to find the building, but the door needed some code and we had no idea what that was, so that was awesome, but then this young man opened the door for us from the inside and I recognized him from the homeless shelter Ashawnta used to stay at! He didn't recognize me, but I told him before he skirted outta there that he always rescues us and I wanted to thank him for that. He was a little awkward about it but that's okay. He always disappears before I can get his name, but seriously he's helped us multiple times and he doesn't even know It! You never know who you impact by doing simple nice things y'all!

We got the bag to the right room, but the sister wasn't there yet. So we still haven't met her 🙃

We had exchanges on Thursday and that's always a party. I got Sister Vernon who actually goes home in 2 weeks from her mission. Craziness! She and Sister Wilcox Sr will be leaving at the same time. Weird things are happening!

Speaking of that, I hit my 10 month mark last week! How bizarre is that?!

We had a lesson with Carly on Friday at the radio station on the USI campus because she works there, so that was fascinating. I've always wondered what it's like to be the person that talks between songs on the radio. Carly is much cuter than any person I've ever heard, I'm gonna have to find a way to tune into her station when I go home! And it's alternative music! Love it!!!

She had her baptismal interview on Saturday! It went so good! She is all set and ready to go! SO EXCITED!😆😆😆

Also on Saturday we went up to Fort Branch again and there was a giant trunk or treat party in the middle of the town! So that was awesome! We got to see a bunch of cute little munchkins all dressed up in their costumes😊

Sister Calhoun and I and all the elders in our 2 wards got to sing at an 8 year old girls baptism yesterday. We sang "I know when I am baptized" and she got all emotional, it was very sweet. She had on the most beautiful little white dress I'd ever seen! Carly got to be there and experience what her baptism is going to be like! Oh and then Carly came tracting with us and she bore her testimony to a bunch of different people and man I wish I could have a Carly with me everyday because her sincerityh and her spirit could totally be felt by everyone she met. Even though many still said "no", they could not deny that they felt the Spirit, because I could feel it. I love her so much!😢

The trees are finally turning colors! It's beautiful! I'll have to take more scenic pictures this week so y'all can see. Halloween is this week so Happy Halloween everybody!

Sister Calhoun and I are laying around in bed still, emailing people cuz this will be the only time to do it, hence the name of this email. It's from Sister Calhoun, love her!

Have a fabulous week y'all, enjoy the holiday! Love you!

With love,
Sister Wilcox❤❤❤

  

Okay Y'all the Sun is out and it's Cold

Heyyy

So... not much happened this week. 🙃

Last week I discovered how awesome Hobby Lobby is and I bought some paint for my pumpkin. Y'all, painting pumpkins takes forever as a missionary! Course it didn't help that I had no idea what I wanted to put on it for awhile, but still! I will attach the picture 😉

This week has been absolutely gorgeous! It's been sunny every day but it's been so cold! I love this kind of weather!! This is the best weather to tract in because everyone is typically outside- it's not too hot or too cold.

Sister Calhoun and I tracted this one street with some wicked hills and we met a man from Honduras who was interested in meeting with missionaries, only he didn't speak a whole lot of English! So the elders get to visit him 😝 Then we met a man who wasn't interested, but we talked to him for a bit about his incredible height. Y'all this guy was 7ft and it was the most bizarre experience having to tilt my head that far to see his face. I bet that's what it would be like talking to Hagrid.

We signed up to sing a some country song with the elders for the wards' Halloween talent show, so we've been practicing that a lot. At first the elders wanted to pick a Latino song and I had to tell them that I just could not do that- because I was losing my mind to Gente de Zona and Ricky Martin! I knew it would be a bad idea. But county music I don't really care for, so I'm not bothered by it 😁 It doesn't linger the way reggaeton does...

We had our Zone Conference this last week, and that was exciting! But man the Evansville zone is tiny! And we're so far away from everybody else! When I was in Louisville they called this zone "banishment" because you are never heard of again, basically. I think that's a little dramatic, but it's true in the sense that we never hear what's going on down in Kentucky. We're so out of the loop.

Well, Carly is still doing good, and she keeps blowing everyone away! If y'all could pray for her just so she can have the strength she needs to get through these next couple weeks, she would greatly appreciate it!

Nothing else really happened, it was a pretty chill week. So I just want to end by saying that the Atonement is the most beautiful gift of all gifts, yet it can be so neglected. Use it. It's free. It was paid for at such a painstakingly high price, the least we can do is show our appreciation for what has been done for us. I have never had a problem telling others that they can be forgiven, yet for some reason I never allow the Atonement to apply to me. It applies to all people. Using the Atonement is freeing and it will lift you from out of whatever you are facing, no matter what that may be. The Atonement is real. The power it has is real. It's the proof that Heavenly Father has unfathomable love for us all.

Also, this life is about having joy. So be joyful! Men are that they might have joy, and there is so much all around us to be happy about, even through all the wars raging and hurricanes blowing about. Be happy, look for ways to serve and ease the burdens of others, realize life while you live it, it's too short to not to. 😊

I love you all so much and I hope that this week is a happy one!

With love,
Sister Wilcox ❤❤❤

That house is one of many super old super cool looking houses in downtown. I had to take a picture of it. 😀

  

 

We Survived the Week

Hey y'all!

So last week Sister Calhoun and I went with Carly to a pumpkin patch and it was so CUTE! I petted a pony with a sign on her gate that said "pony bites" hahahaha oh well. We got pumpkins there too and we're planning on painting them today. Sister Calhoun is gonna drown hers in glitter!

On Tuesday we decided to drive all the way up to the northern-most part of our area. It's like 35 minutes away, which I guess isn't that bad, but when you have a set amount of miles it's a little precarious. There was a referral all the way up there so we just went for it. It was so much fun running around that town, and man was it cute! It was called 'Fort Branch' and I think I could totally live there, if for whatever reason I decided to live in Indiana. I don't think I'd do the humidity on purpose again though...

Wednesday we got to help the Wings move some landscaping around for their future patio they're putting in. I LOVE dirt! Love it, and plants. It was soooo nice too because the weather has finally cooled off! This week has been in the 50's and 60's and it has been magical! It looks like Oregon and now it finally feels like Oregon! Everybodys been like, "there was no Fall it just jumped right to winter" and I've been so confused, because this is what fall looks like?? I think it's pretty great. We had a lesson with Carly and she planned out everything for her baptism in like a cute little order of things and I just love her! She is precious, and she is so ready for this next step it's just so amazing to see.

I got to hold ducks on Thursday at the Pace's house! And inspect a chicken because she was losing a ton of feathers, she's just molting y'all! But I did feel bad for her, she covered me in feathers. The ducks were so cute! Brother Pace was like, " the best part about ducks is that they can't run as fast as chickens" and I about died! Their awkward little flat feet make it hard to escape! I waaaaant some! We had a lot of meetings on Thursday, so I can't really remember much of what happened. Our ward mission leader, Brother Schauss, is brand new so we had a LONG meeting with him. It was really cool to meet with him though because he is so fired up about missionary work, and he just wants to do the best he can for us. I love him and I think this is going to be an awesome transfer working with him!

Saturday started out rough! Ohhh my goodness, but everything worked out. For the most part I guess. We had lunch with Carly and taught her another lesson, and the entire time I was like, "you need to be teaching us!" She knows so much! I don't even know how she just does, she just needs to become part of the companionship and make us a trio! People need her testimony! Gosh I love her! It's such a privilege to know her and to have met souls like hers that are fighters, that are hungry for the gospel. They are inspiring!

Oh, also that night we drove out to see the Broshears (who ended up not being there). I got a little lost so I tried turning around in a driveway and these people had these super low, random logs placed on the sides of the drive that I didn't see and I totally got the car stuck cuz they were wet and slippery and our car is so short! I panicked and got so frustrated! Who puts logs like that by the driveway?! I knew we couldn't push the car ourselves (even though I totally tried to) and then finally I just had to be still for a sec and calm down. I had this little thought to just turn the wheel the other way and push on the gas. So I did. The darn car was able to get over the log and back onto the road! It's amazing what you can do if you just sit still and be calm, the Lord will show you what to do. He can't when you aren't listening, when you think "I'll figure this out on my own" or when you're so annoyed or frustrated that you can't even receive a prompting, like I was at that point. I didn't even feel like I deserved to have that kind of help, yet I was helped. That's how He works :)

Also I flooded a bathroom. We were at the Wings last night for a devotional/ game night and I guess the water never stopped running cuz soon there was a waterfall coming from the toilet and I ran outta there like, "how do I turn this off?!" It was pretty funny. I'm so grateful that the Wings are chill people.

That was my week! I have tons of fun with Sister Calhoun and we love Evansville! We aren't perfect missionaries but we sure try the best we can! I love y'all! I hope you enjoy the Fall weather as much as I do!!

With love,
Sister Wilcox